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| N.H. Moving Ahead With E-Cigarette Ban for Youth |
| Source from:Associated Press 03/16/2010 |
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Electronic cigarettes are readily available at mall kiosks and the Internet, come in flavors like tobacco, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla, and replace smoking with "vaping."
And though they deliver a dose of nicotine steam, they can still be legally sold to and used by minors.
Mara Zrzavy, a 16-year-old ConVal Regional High School student from Peterborough, thinks that's just wrong, and worries kids her age will view e-cigarettes as cool and become addicted to the nicotine. After they're hooked, some will switch to regular cigarettes, which are cheaper, she said.
"It's like having a new cell phone. It's cool. It's electronic," she said.
Zrzavy and other New Hampshire youth involved in anti-drug programs helped persuade the House to pass a bill barring e-cigarette use by minors and hope the Senate will do the same.
Supporters want lawmakers to apply New Hampshire's law on tobacco products to e-cigarettes. New Jersey has barred use by minors, in workplaces and other indoor public places. Several other states are considering laws restricting use by minors.
Under New Hampshire law, it is illegal to sell tobacco to minors and for minors to buy, possess or use tobacco products. Minors who violate the law face fines of up to $100, up to 20 hours of community service or both.
The federal Food and Drug Administration does not regulate electronic cigarettes. A federal judge ruled in January that the agency lacked jurisdiction over them as drugs.
Electronic cigarettes look like the real thing but don't contain tobacco. They use a metal tube with a battery to heat a liquid nicotine solution in a replaceable cartridge. Users inhale and exhale the resulting water vapor. The tip of the tube lights like a regular cigarette. The process is called "vaping" instead of smoking.
"You look like a tea kettle essentially," said Marie Mulroy, tobacco program manager at Breathe New Hampshire which is helping the youth in their fight.
Electronic cigarettes are marketed as an alternative to regular cigarettes and were first marketed worldwide in 2002, but did not become widespread in the United States until late in 2006, said James Watt, a board member of the Electronic Cigarette Association.
The association supports restricting the product's use to adults and supports the move in New Hampshire to restrict access.
"Usage of electronic cigarettes is a lot like smoking. That is an adult activity," he said.
Watt says the industry does not market to youth.
"I have yet to see any evidence that kids are buying these," he said.
Dover High School freshman Paige Niler doesn't believe that.
"The ads for e-cigarettes have shown up as advertisements on the sides of my Facebook wall," says Niler, 15. "I believe e-cigarettes are being advertised directly at me and my peers."
Watt said reputable dealers don't sell to minors - something Niler found out when she decided to test the policy at a kiosk in a New Hampshire mall. But when she told the salesman her age, he suggested she find someone over age 18 to buy it for her, she said.
State Rep. Rich DiPentima, the bill's prime sponsor, and Mulroy believe electronic cigarettes are just starting to catch on in New Hampshire. DiPentima said the legislation is intended to put state regulations in place since the FDA is not regulating the nicotine as a medical product and restricting access as it does to other smoking cessation products.
Niler hopes a ban is in place in time to keep her friends from getting hooked.
"I am afraid these e-cigarettes will just be like a gateway drug. They will get teens addicted to nicotine and then they may transition into smoking regular cigarettes," she said. Enditem
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